Toy telephone with television effect



y 1939- v H. BREGMAN 2,159,839

TOY TELEPHONE WITH TELEVISION EFFECT Filed March 1, 1957 1 INVENTOR.

Harry Breyman. BY I j Wu 591 ATTORNEY J Patented May 23, 1939 STTES ATENT TOY TELEPHONE WITH TELEVISION EFFECT poration of Ohio Application March 1, 1937, Serial No. 128,334

3 Claims.

This invention relates to toys and, as its principal object, aims to provide a toy telephone having novel means for producing a television effect.

Another object of my invention is to provide a toy telephone having novel image producing means embodied therein for simulating television.

A further object of my invention is to provide a toy telephone having signaling means for at tracting the attention of a nearby person with whom communication is desired and also having reflecting means for producing an image of such person.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a viewing device, suitable for use as a toy, comprising a casing having windows and reflecting surfaces substantially opposite the respective windows and in which one of the reflecting surfaces is manually adjustable by means accessible outside the casing.

My invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a toy telephone embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the telephone;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken through the device on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the same on a larger scale and with the hand set removed from its support, and

Fig. i is a partial perspective View showing the arrangement of the reflecting surfaces and the mounting thereof on the cover or base plate of the casing.

More detailed reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing in which I have shown my improved toy telephone provided with viewing means adapted to produce a television effect. Before proceeding with the detailed description of the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, it should be understood that the invention may be embodied in various other structural arrangements and devices.

As will be presently explained more in detail,

my invention can be readily embodied in a toy receive and support the hand set l2. As is usual in telephones of this type the hand set is formed with a handle portion l3 which carries a transmitter l4 and an ear piece 15 at opposite ends thereof. The base or standard Ill is in the form of a hollow casing which is preferably constructed as a sheet metal stamping. closed at the bottom thereof by a generally flat cover or base plate It which has an angularly disposed marginal flange I! provided with spaced The casing may be looking lugs l8 adapted to engage in similarly (10 like part which is seated on the top wall and which g is shaped to readily receive the handle portion E3 of the hand set between the pairs of upwardly extending fingers 23. The hand set I2 is flexibly connected with the base by a cord 24.

To enable the child to attract the attention of a nearby person with whom he desires to communicate, I provide the telephone with signalling means preferably in the form of a dial-type calling device 25. This calling device may be mounted on the inclined front wall 2| of the casing and may comprise a rotatable dial 26 having a series of finger openings 21 and a bell 28 disposed inside the casing. This dial-type calling device may be identical with the calling device illustrated in my earlier Patent No. 2,066,065, issued December 29, 1936, that is to say, the device may include spring and ratchet means 29 so arranged that rotation of the dial in one direction will cause tensioning of the spring and upon release of the dial the tensioned spring will rotate the dial in the opposite direction and will act through the ratchet device to cause ringing of the bell by a movable clapper. Since this mechanism is disclosed in detail in my prior patent referred to above, it is deemed unnecessary to illustrate the details of that mechanism herein.

Openings 30 in the wall of the base permit the passage of sound waves originating in the hollow casing.

For simulating television or creating a televi- 'sion effect I provide a viewing means or visual device with which the child can observe various objects or a nearby person with whom he is communicating. This viewing device comprises reflecting means disposed so that when the child looks into the device he will see an image of such object or person. The reflecting means is preferably housed in the hollow casing which forms the base or standard ID of the telephone and in this instance comprises reflecting surfaces 3! and 32 which are located substantially opposite openings 33 and 34 formed, respectively, in the back and top walls 22 and IQ of the casing. The reflectors 3| and 32 are relatively inclined as shown in Fig. 3 so that light rays emanating from a thing outside the casing and passing through the opening 33 will produce an image on the reflecting surface 32 which will be in turn reflected by the surface 3| toward the opening 3 To give the device a more attractive and finished appearance and to prevent the entry of dust, the openings 33 and 34 may be provided respectively with transparent windows 35 and 36 formed of glass or other suitable material. The window 35 may be referred to as the objective window because during use of the device this window is pointed toward the object or person whose image is to be produced on the reflector 3|. The window 36 may be termed the viewing window because the child or person using the device looks into the casing through this window to observe the image which is produced on the reflector iii.

The reflectors 3i and 32 may be of any suitable construction, for example, they may be mirrors formed by polished plates or by panes of glass coated with silver or other suitable material. The reflectors may be supported in the desired relatively inclined positions by brackets 3'5 and 38 formed of sheet metal or other suitable material. As a feature of my invention I provide for adjustment or swinging of the reflector 3| relative to the reflector 32 so that the child looking through the window 36 can find or pick up the image of the object or person towards which the window 35 is pointed. For this purpose the bracket 31 may be constructed with spaced ears 3Q with which an actuating shaft 40 is connected. The cars 39 of the bracket cooperate with similarly spaced ears 8! which extend upwardly from the base plate H5. The shaft 48, which extends through both pairs of ears to form a pivot, has a flat 42 thereon which is engaged by a flat on one of the ears 39 in such a manner as to form a drive connection between the shaft and the bracket 3'1. One end of the shaft it! extends beyond the bracket 3! and is bent upwardly, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, to form an actuating handle 63 which protrudes through an opening of the casing so as to be accessible from the exterior thereof. The bracket 38 which forms the support for the reflector 32 is also connected with the base plate 16, and from the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 it will be seen that the reflectors and the base plate form a sub-assembly and that when the base plate is applied to the casing iii the reflectors will be disposed in their desired relative positions in the telephone. An advantage for this construction is that the reflectors can be assembled on the base plate prior to the connecting of the latter in position to close the bottom of the casing.

If desired my improved toy telephone may be constructed to also embody a sound producing device 55 of the bellows type commonly referred to as a voice. This voice 45 may also be mounted on the base plate I6 and held in position by resilient fingers 46. The voice is preferably located on the base plate to lie at a point below the bell 28 and is connectmed to be actuated from the dial 26 of the calling device. For this purpose I may provide a cord 41, preferably an elastic cord, which is connected with the movable part 48 of the voice and with a winding spool 49 carried by the spindle of the dial. The cord 41 preferably extends through the opening of a bracket 50 arranged so that when the dial 26 is rotated in the direction to tension the spring, the cord i! will extend the bellows of the voice and when the dial is released the voice will sound during or after the ringing of the bell 28.

It will be noted that when the hand set 12 is in engagement with the cradle H, such as when the telephone is not in use, the handle 13 of the hand set will fully or partially cover the viewing window 36. This coverage of the viewing window by the hand set will provide protection for the window against damage or breakage and whenever the viewing device is to be used it will be necessary for the child to first remove the hand set from the cradle.

According to one method of using my improved toy telephone it is intended that the child place or hold the telephone in such position that the objective window 35 will point towards the person with whom he wishes to communicate. He then lifts the hand set from the cradle and holds the receiver to his ear in the usual manner. He then operates the dial 2% of the calling device to attract the attention of the person and when the attention of the person has been gained he carries on the desired conversation. During this time the child looks into the viewing window 36 and by observing the image of the person on the reflector 3! he obtains a television effect while the communication is being carried on. My novel viewing device can also be used by the child to observe a variety of objects or scenes and during such use he can shift the field of vision by manipulating the handle 43.

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing, it will now be readily seen that I have provided an improved toy telephone having viewing means for producing a television effeet and from which children will derive additional entertainment during the use of the telephone. It will be understood further that this television effect is obtained through the use of relatively simple apparatus comprising a novel arrangement of reflecting means preferably located in the casing of the telephone.

While I have illustrated and described the improved toy of my invention, it will be understood of course that I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction and arrangements of parts herein disclosed, but regard my invention as including such changes and modifications as do not involve a departure from the spirit of V the invention and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a toy telephone, a hollow casing having window openings therein, signal device operable to attract the attention of a nearby person with whom communication is desired, reflecting means in the casing for producing therein an image of said person, a receiver flexibly connected with said casing, means on the casing providing a support for the receiver, one of said window openings being obstructed when the receiver is in engagement with its support.

2. In a device of the character described the combination of a hollow casing having openings therein including window openings, a cover adapted to be connected with the casing to close one of the openings thereof, and cooperating reflecting surfaces carried on the cover and adapted to be disposed in the casing substantially opposite the respective window openings when the cover is connected with the casing.

3. In a toy of the character described the combination of a. hollow casing having window openings therein, a cover adapted to be connected with the casing adjacent the bottom thereof, cooperating reflecting surfaces carried on the cover and adapted to be disposed in the casing substantially opposite the respective window openings when the cover is connected with the casing, means mounting one of said surfaces for relative swinging, and manually operable means accessible from the outside of the casing for causing swinging of said one surface.

HARRY BREGMAN. 

